


Can't Handle the Truth

by xenxa_girl



Category: Naruto
Genre: Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, anti-ending, anti-gaiden, anti-naruhina, anti-sasusaku
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-01
Updated: 2015-06-01
Packaged: 2018-04-02 07:56:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4052374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xenxa_girl/pseuds/xenxa_girl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You know what they say: reality is crueler than fantasy.</p><p>(Where Sasuke finally speaks the truth to his daughter)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Can't Handle the Truth

**Author's Note:**

> Plot bunnies bite hard, especially when it's early in the morning. I already posted this on my Tumblr [here](http://the-wicked-xen.tumblr.com/post/120371060427/this-has-been-brewing-in-my-mind-for-a-while-and) but I might as well post it here too. I would love reviews as well because I'm an egomaniac and can't get enough praise.

She wasn’t sure how she did it, but Sarada managed to find her father sitting atop the Hokage mountain, on top of the Seventh’s head to be precise. It was just a feeling she couldn’t ignore, an urge she had to follow as she was walking through the street of the village proper. She still yearned for answers and damned if she was going to give on getting them.

However, seeing her father after everything that happened made her hesitate. She had already tried to confront him once. She yelled at him, demanded answers, and was brushed off like she was nothing. Part of her was berating herself for acting like such a child throwing a tantrum but another part knew that she was well within her right to ask questions. And if her mother and Shizune-san wouldn’t answer them and the Seventh seemed to have no idea what the hell was going on anyway, then her father was the only one she was go to for information.

Her father - Sasuke - was nestled in between the rocky spikes of the Seventh’s hair. It looked uncomfortable to Sarada, but he seemed to not mind it. His face was peaceful, or at least she assumed it looked peaceful. She didn’t know him well enough to differentiate his facial expressions.

“So, you found me, again,” Sasuke spoke up, startling Sarada from where she stood balanced on a spike. He wasn’t looking at her, face still pointed towards the village, and that cut even deeper than when he attacked her. “Do you still seek answers from me?”

Sarada swallowed thickly. Her father’s expressionless tone scared her a little. Her initial anger over her situation had diminished since her outburst the first time they met. It was still there, no doubt about that, but she couldn’t seem to muster up the energy to even raise her voice.

“I just want to know,” she nearly whispered, her voice wavering. “I deserve to know why…”

Sasuke was silent for all of two seconds before he closed his uncovered eye and sighed. He sounded so resigned to his situation. Sarada almost felt sorry for him.

“Nearly thirteen years ago, I came back to Konoha from my travels,” he started speaking, voice low and still sounding emotionless to Sarada. “I usually come back at least once a year, just to see how Naruto and this village has been doing.” It didn’t escape Sarada on how Sasuke didn’t mention her mother. “That year was a time for celebration it seemed, because Naruto got the news that we going to become a father.” The corner of Sasuke’s lips curled and even Sarada could recognize the tinge of bitterness in that expression. “I was a few months late in getting the news, but Naruto dragged me along to celebrate anyway. He poured me saucer after saucer of sake, ignoring his wife’s or Sakura’s warnings on drinking too much. At least we were in his home so he didn’t have to worry about stumbling through the streets drunk off his ass.”

Sasuke paused there. He tilted his head down and open his eyes, the emotion swirling in the dark irises that Sarada had inherited. That moment made her wish that she hadn’t.

“I humored Naruto,” he continued, voice lowering even more. “Drank every drop he poured for me. I’ll admit that I never had the highest alcohol tolerance and the sake hit me fast. I don’t know how long it was until Sakura pushed me out the door, insisting that she’ll offer her couch for me to sleep on since I didn’t necessarily had a place to stay in the village back then.”

He closed his eyes again and took a deep breath, lips tightening until they were thin and white against his skin. Sarada felt her heart beat faster at the gesture and a sense of dread that had her chest feeling tight. She couldn’t say exactly why she was feeling this way and she almost wanted to scream at Sasuke to just stop talking, but her voice failed to speak up and she stood, almost horrified, as Sasuke continued talking.

“I would say that everything was a blur to me, but because of the rinnegan I can remember everything, even when I’m out of it,” he said, his voice now almost a whisper but still loud enough for Sarada to hang onto every word. “I remember her sitting me down on her couch and then handing me a glass of water and a pill. She said that it would help with a hangover and I believed her. After all, she’s a trained medic-nin. I had no reason not to believe her.”

Sasuke opened his eyes and finally looked up at Sarada, whose face radiated shock and denial. The corner of his lips twitched, like he was enjoying the emotional turmoil that was raging in Sarada’s chest, but he kept his eyes and voice carefully blank as he wrapped up his tale.

“The effects of the pill didn’t take long to kick in. I started feeling hot and fidgety, but I had thought it was just my state of drunkenness. I remember complaining about it and Sakura offering to help me. She pulled me into her room and helped me take my clothes off-”

“Stop it,” Sarada managed to croak out, not wanting to hear anymore, but Sasuke ignored her.

“-encouraging me to lay down on her bed which I did. I was feeling nauseous and hardly noticed when she climbed on top of me-”

“Please stop it.”

“-naked as the day she was born. Next thing I know her hands were all over me. I tried to push her off but she was stronger and the pill hindered my reaction time. My body hardly rejected any of her stimulation-”

“I said stop it!”

“-and I could couldn’t fight her off in my state, drunk and drugged with something I wasn’t immune to. It was disgusting, hearing her moaning on top of me while I tried not to throw up-”

“STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT!”

Sasuke stopped and stared dispassionately as Sarada stumbled down to more even terrain on the monument. She trembled and fell to her knees, panting harshly and trying to hold back tears. She shook her head and bit her lip, her eyes looking around wildly as if she’d find the answers to her questions in the rock around her.

“You’re lying,” she rasped, desperately trying to latch onto something rational that didn’t completely destroy her world. “Do you expect me t-to believe that… that mom would do that?!” She laughed harshly but stopped when it almost became a sob.

‘Why do you think I would lie about something like this?” Sasuke asked with the same emotionless tone he’s been sporting the whole time he talked and it made Sarada sick. She wanted to punch him for being such an unfeeling bastard. “Whatever you may think of me, Sarada, know that I’m not a liar. I have dodged and refused to answer questions, but I have never lied to you or anyone.”

And curse him, because that was true. He never outright lied to her, which didn’t say much since he never actually talked to her, but there was also the fact that Sarada knew that Sasuke was a serious man. Instinct told her that he wouldn’t lie unless necessary. He wouldn’t say such an earth-shattering thing just to play a prank.

“So… all this time…” she whispered, her throat feeling like a shuriken was lodged in there something good. “The reason why you never came home, why you don’t want to see me… it’s because I was a mistake?”

She lifted her head and met her father’s single eye. She thought that her father’s expression softened slightly, but it could be a trick of the light for all she knew.

“Yes,” he said and Sarada flinched at the harsh truth. “You’re the result of a heinous act against me. The result of a moment of weakness for both myself and your mother. You’re my permanent reminder that no matter how much I try, I’ll always be used by someone, even someone I considered a teammate once. She probably doesn’t even see me as a person.”

Tears dripped down Sarada’s cheeks and she nearly choked on holding back her sobs. Of all the things she imagined, this wasn’t was of them. It only goes to show that reality was crueler than fantasy.

“B-But th-that picture,” she whimpered, her hand vainly wiping the tears from her eyes. “M-My glasses… my birth records…”

Sasuke shrugged. “You’re going to have to ask your mother about all of that,” he said, sounding almost uncaring.

“Are you two even m-married?”

“On paper we are. As much as I hate her, even I couldn’t let her go around with a child born out of wedlock.”

Sarada laughed harshly at that. “Oh, how damn _nice_ of you to be so concerned about her!” She knew she shouldn’t have said that, but her emotions were all over the place at the moment. She couldn’t stop the words from slipping out.

Sasuke only blinked lazily, the words hardly affecting him, and that made Sarada want to scream. Does she really not matter to him at all?

“You are my child,” he said with a sigh, snatching up his sword and easily moving into a standing position. “You have my name, my blood, and my eyes. I can acknowledge that much. But every time I see your face, I only remember that night and how weak I was, how violated I was and still am. How my plan on never siring any more Uchiha children all fell to pieces because of your mother’s selfishness.”

Sarada swallowed thickly, still panting hard. She wanted to shout at her father, tell him to fuck off and never come back if he hated it her so much, but again her voice failed her. She hung on to every word he spoke and she felt disgusted at how much she still ached for even a sliver of affection from him.

Something must have shown on her face though because she can say for certain now that Sasuke’s expression visibly softened. She wasn’t sure why now, of all times, he’s lowering his guard.

“You’re not in your right mind to discuss this further,” he said. “I’m willing to talk some more, if you want to, but only after you’ve calmed down and talk to your mother.” He took a step towards the edge of the monument, face falling blank once again .”You know where to find me when you’re ready.”

At that, he fell over the edge, fading into nothing as he sped away, leaving Sarada alone with her thoughts and emotions.

This time, she didn’t fight back the tears and sobs.

~

Sasuke wasn’t even halfway towards the Tower when he had to stop and lean against a tree, hand cupping his mouth as he bent over and retched. For years he had managed to keep that night at the back of his mind, only revisiting it in his dreams, but now that he had been confronted by his daughter, the direct result of that night, he couldn’t hold back his reactions anymore. He could still feel Sakura’s weight on top of him and remember how helpless he felt under her. He could hear the sounds she made as she moved and the pressure on his lower belly that built up until he couldn’t hold it back anymore. He could remember the morning after, how he thought that it had just been a horrible dream because he was clean (if a little sweaty) and dressed and Sakura acted as normal as she could be.

It was only a month or so later, a month of being haunted by that night, when she confronted him and told him that she was pregnant. He had nearly gone berserk on her, his hand going as far as unsheathing his sword before he remembered himself. He managed to keep calm as they worked out an arrangement and it was only until he was miles and miles away from Konoha that he let his emotions out.

He left a sizable crater in the forest at his outburst and then spent hours in a nearby river, trying to clean himself but feeling like he failed every time.

When Sasuke thought he could hold down his breakfast, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and straightened up, feeling shaken and weak. This was why he avoided Konoha now. It was a challenge not breaking down at just looking at his daughter’s face and he dreaded the day when he finally encounters Sakura. He didn’t think he can stop himself from drawing his sword at her again.

He stood there for a moment, breathing deeply if a little shakily. Then he called out, “I know you’re there.”

It only took two seconds for Sasuke’s silent stalker to appear at his side and that head of blond hair and those concerned blue eyes were unmistakable. A quick glance down showed that the bandages that usually adorned Naruto’s right arm were absent, the start white of the artificial limb a contrast to it surroundings. That only cemented the fact that this was the real Naruto, not some clone sent out for an errand.

“You took your time,” Sasuke smirked, moving to lean back against the tree he was using as a crutch.

“I wanted to wait until we got to the Tower,” Naruto said, eyes hard and serious in a way that Sasuke had only seen when they were in battle.

Unfortunately he knew the reason why Naruto was sporting such an expression at the moment. He only had to wait a few more seconds…

“How come you never told me?” Naruto’s lips were pulled down into a frown, causing his aging face to look even older.

“There was nothing you could have done, Naruto,” Sasuke said with a bitter laugh.

“But I-”

Sasuke shook his head. “You heard what I said didn’t you? Sakura only told me about the pregnancy a month after that night and throughout that time I was in deep denial, thinking that what happened was just some disgusting lucid dream I had while drunk.” He looked up into Naruto’s eyes, silently pleading for the blond to understand. “Besides, I didn’t want to ruin your friendship with her.”

Naruto’s lips tightened and, under any other circumstance, Sasuke would’ve teased him about thinking too hard.

“My friendship with her is pretty non-existent these days anyway,” Naruto murmured, sounding full of regret and guilt. It made Sasuke want to go over to him and throw an arm around him in a hug, but he somehow couldn’t bring his body to move just yet.

Besides, Naruto did it for him anyway, moving forward until he was toe to toe with Sasuke. He reached out a hand - his left hand - and gripped the back of Sasuke’s neck, pulling the other forward so that their foreheads could touch. The proximity and intimacy of the gesture had Sasuke’s heart racing and he wanted to step away from it, but again, he couldn’t bring his body to move. This was just what he had been craving and just standing here with Naruto made all the tension in his body leak out of it.

“I still wish you had told me,” Naruto said. “I know that I wouldn’t have made the situation better… but you have been bottling your feelings about this for so long. I feel so guilty not having noticed anything.”

Sasuke stared into those blue eyes that had haunted his life for almost as long as Itachi did. The emotion and genuine concern were familiar and even the small flecks of red were not much of a surprise anymore. How could such eyes make him feel so safe and secure, more than anyone else had before he lost his family?

“I told you that I wanted to share your burden with you,” Naruto continued speaking. “Whether they be hatred for the world or hatred for yourself. I still want to be there at your side.”

Which was a damn fine thing to say considering they have only recently seen each other after twelve years of strictly professional contact.

Sasuke didn’t voice that out loud though. He knew he should, but he didn’t want to, at least not now. He just wanted to be in the company of his most precious person, with no complications, for just a little longer. He craved it, he needed it, he wanted it.

The two stood there for a minute or so more, basking in each other’s presence like men thirsting for water in a desert. It was Naruto who first moved away and even then he slipped his hand down to grip Sasuke’s own, as if he loathed to be even a second out of contact with the Uchiha.

“Let’s go to the Tower,” Naruto said, the corner of his lip quirking upwards. “We’ll talk more there, yeah?”

Sasuke could only nod and let himself be lead towards their (not-so) secret meeting place. He knew that there were a lot of things that he and Naruto needed to talk about, not all of them mission-related. And he knew that he needed to get his wits together if he had to confront Sakura and Sarada without going into a panic attack. But that can wait until later. Right now he just wanted to be with Naruto.

They’ll cross that distant bridge when they get to it.


End file.
